Send men
to spy out (latur) the Land of Canaan which I give to the Children of Israel
... Numbers
13:2
The root
word “latur” (translated here “to spy out”) appears also in the first
chapter of Ecclesiastes [v. 13]: “And I applied my heart to seek and to search
out (latur) by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven
…”, upon which the Midrash comments “‘to search out by wisdom’ as the verse
says ‘spy out the Land of Canaan.’” Our Sages teach that for one to truly see
the Land requires deep wisdom, one must not be influenced by what is seen on
the superficial level, but to delve beyond this and understand how truly good
the Land is.
My father
explained the Sages’ intention is that for one to truly “search out” and “see”
the Land of Israel, it is necessary to employ wisdom. It is insufficient to see
the Land only on a superficial level. One must apply wisdom and delve deeply
into the meaning and significance of the Land of Israel to the People of Israel,
in the future as well as in the past. Then one will reach the conclusion
reported by Joshua and Caleb: “the Land is exceedingly good.” [Numbers 14:7]
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